Come FOLLOW me as I FOLLOW Him: The greatest place on earth...besides the temple

Uhh Hellllo!!

What's crackalackin everyone?

I only have half of a p-day today. There is seriously SO much to tell you and I don't know if I can fit it all in.

HERE. WE. GO.

The MTC is the GREATEST place on earth (besides the temple).

Seriously, the only other place I'd rather be is in Riverside.

After I got dropped off on Wednesday I had to go through a whole welcoming group by myself to get my name tag and materials and things like that.

Next, I was able to go to my room and drop off my stuff then my host took me to my classroom which is where I met my district.

My district has two sister companionships and two elder companionships.

The first companionship is Elder Harp and Elder Meuller.

Elder Harp is 20 years old and from Missouri. He is half black, I believe...or maybe not, but he is something. He is a big teddy bear with a really sweet spirit. He loves this gospel and is always pointing out the spirit. I love him.

Elder Meuller is from Wisconsin initially, but recently moved to Chicago. He is 20 years old and has a real excitement to share the gospel. He loves to play jokes on us sisters and thinks he is quite funny...we are a tad similar. I love him.

The next companionship is Sister Gonzalez and Sister Byrd.

I love both these sisters. I share a room with only them and my companion, which is nice because there is room for 6.

Sister Gonzalez is 20 years old, from Idaho and was attending BYUI. She is very righteous and in tune with the spirit. She will tell you how it is, but in the sweetest way. I love her.

Sister Byrd is 20 years old and from Ogden. She is quite goofy. She is very smart and loves to teach people about everything she knows...not only about the gospel. I love her.

The third companionship is Elder Anderson and Elder Feist.

Elder Anderson is almost 20 and is a great guy. He had his papers in for the military (you'd never guess) but then ended up here on a mission. His testimony is based off of some crazy, cool experiences he's had and I love to hear him bear testimony. He gets VERY emotional when he feels the spirit which only makes me love him more.

Elder Feist is 18 and from North Dakota. He really loves baseball and won some Gatorade player award. He was playing baseball at Dixie State on a full ride scholarship and wasn't playing very well which, long story short, lead him to a mission. He is always wanting to pray and gets really excited about activities...especially when it has to do with companion study. I sit by him in class and we think we are very funny. I love him.

Sister Todd is my companion.

All day Wednesday we talked about how similar we are. If you took every good quality I have, added humility and a very quiet, soft voice that would be Sister Todd.

We've gotten along great so far!

There was one point where we disagreed on how to teach our investigator about the Restoration, but it wasn't a big deal. I could tell that she was frustrated with me, but I really felt strongly about it.

We ended up compromising and since then I feel like she is always asking me if what she did offended me, or if I'm okay, or telling me I'm beautiful, or that I am going to be such a better missionary than her...(not my favorite).

I am working on seeing her the way Heavenly Father does and trying to be patient.

All of that said, I love her...I REALLY do.

Some of my most spiritual experiences I've ever had have been because of her. I know that we are companions for a reason. She is such a great example to me and I'm truly grateful for her.

Natalie and Sister Todd on their first day at MTC

Sister Byrd and Sister Gonzales

Elders Mueller, Harp, Feist and Anderson

I saw Paige the first day!! It was so EXCITING.

I saw her a couple of times the first two days and she would even come down and visit with me before bed (which I don't think Sister Todd liked because that meant later bedtime, but I only have a limited time with Paige so it's worth it).

We talked about living together after our missions and I really hope it happens.

I cannot wait to see Kathy in Riverside.

The more I talk to Paige, the less homesick I feel (which isn't too much...sorry) and the more excited I am to get to Riverside.

Natalie and Paige before bed

I had a salad to eat the first night which was good. I didn't sleep well at all.

Oh and I wrote you a letter because I thought I wouldn't have email time until next Friday, but it has more details like what time I wake up and go to bed.

We spend most of our time as a district in the classroom with our teachers. I LOVE OUR TEACHERS. They're the best. Sister Metzger and I made a connection the first day.

And Brother Reeves and Brother Roberts have said some of the most profound things I have ever heard.

They have truly strengthened my testimony of the gospel so much in only three and a half days, but, today we found out that the MTC is switching around all of the teachers so they will no longer be teaching us.

I'm not going to lie...I had to hold back tears today when Sister Metzger left us with her testimony.

Thursday night we met as a zone which includes two other districts and one of them is the ASL district!! It's the ONLY one!!! I seriously love to watch them sign.

Our branch president (zones and branches are the same) is President Born. He is so great. He served an ASL mission and now owns an interpreting company.

He had to interpret for half the meeting which was pretty cool, especially when he was signing while he was speaking. You'd have to know sign to know how IMPRESSIVE that is.

Each district has 1 district leader who is an elder. Each zone has 2 zone leaders who are also elders.

The district leaders meet with each senior companion in their district once/week then report to the zone leaders who then report to the branch president.

Each zone has a Sister Training Leader (I think that is what it is called) who meets with each senior companion from the whole zone once/week.

They're technically zone leaders, but they can't be called that for some reason.

After the meeting on Thursday, President Born asked Elder Meuller to be our district leader. Which means that he conducts every time we meet as a district and he is in charge of the mail...

*side note...I didn't get my mail until late Thursday night and I just about cried when I did. He passes them out in front of the whole district and I was blessed enough to have 5 letters!!!

It was seriously the GREATEST thing!

Besides the gospel nothing makes you happier here than receiving mail. PLEASE keep them coming. Packages are encouraged too. :)

President Born called two elders from the ASL district as zone leaders and I was called as the Sister Training Leader.

It's been a great calling. I really just counsel with the sisters and if there are any sort of problems such as being homesick, not getting along with companions or inappropriate elder/sister relationships (which have all been problems) I am the one who deals with them.

If they are bad enough, I inform President Born. I haven't had to call him YET, but it's only day 4.

Tomorrow I have meetings all morning, then an hour long RS (1200 sisters) and then an hour long sacrament meeting with just my zone.

We all have to prepare 5 minute talks on repentance and then 1 minute before sacrament mtg Pres. Born will inform us who is speaking. I'm not at all worried about it.

Yesterday was the MOST spiritually uplifting day of my life!

We learned that as missionaries we don't teach lessons, we teach PEOPLE. That there is something that each investigator needs to hear and we need to PREPARE and RELY on the spirit so that we can be the mouthpiece for Heavenly Father.

We had to teach lessons as individuals, companionships and have discussions with our district.

Tears were flowing left and right. It was seriously so POWERFUL.

Sister Todd was able to share scriptures with me that were EXACTLY what I needed to hear and I was able to bear testimony which then lead to a change of heart for her and her self esteem.

This is the true gospel of Jesus Christ and I cannot wait to share it with the people in Riverside!

Your updates on everything are PERFECT!!

I was F R E A K I N G out about Ziggy! Please keep them coming.

(The Lions selected Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah from BYU No. 5 overall pick in NFL Draft)

I love you all. I wish I could talk to you everyday. This email doesn't even cover a third of it, but I am really so happy here.

Missionary work is so important and I am so grateful that it is a part of God's plan for me.

This is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and is the only true church on earth.

What a blessing that is.

Love,

Sister Nelson

(email received April 27, 2013)